Atrium Health Pineville (N.C.), part of Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health, canceled its elective surgeries for Feb. 22 and notified patients after a plumbing fixture leaked on the hospital's fourth floor in the early morning.

Memphis, Tenn.-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare and its longtime anesthesia provider, Medical Anesthesia Group, have ended their partnership after contract negotiations hit an impasse.

Overwhelming, chaotic, inefficient, dysfunctional — all four words appear throughout a recent report describing the nationwide challenge of emergency department boarding published by the American College of Emergency Physicians. 

On an October day in 2022, Kelsay Irby, BSN, RN, then nurse at Silverdale, Wash.-based St. Michael Medical Center, called 911 for backup when the emergency department became overwhelmed with patient boarding. Now, after hospital leaders spent time crafting a plan for resilience, the hospital has shared the strategies that helped it turn things around.

Rural hospitals and health systems are continuing to face significant challenges like rising costs, low reimbursement rates and workforce challenges. In fact, a recent report found that there are about 418 rural hospitals currently at risk of closure. 

A series of events pointing to shortcomings at Brockton, Mass.-based Good Samaritan Medical Center has led the hospital to be understaffed and overcrowded, The Boston Globe reported Feb. 14.

One person is dead and at least 21 others were shot when gunfire rang out near the end of the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl parade Feb. 14. 

Regional Medical Center in San Jose, Calif., plans to end its trauma services in August, citing low utilization rates. 

Allina Health is making changes to services and care access at two of its campuses: Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minn., and Mercy Hospital-Unity Campus in Fridley, Minn. 

A recent analysis found pickleball-related injuries have increased more than 200% in 20 years, NBC News reported Feb. 12.

Over the past months, health systems in numerous states have faced growing capacity challenges. That includes Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital, which saw the highest level of patients boarded in the emergency department in its 200-year history.

Billings (Mont.) Clinic's contract with Billings Anesthesiology expired Feb. 9, with the health system aiming to create its own fully staffed anesthesiology department, according to Montana's News Leader. 

An overwhelming majority of emergency department physicians say they have experienced boarding times in their facilities exceeding 24 hours. While hospital-at-home programs have been shown to be a tool to ease the boarding crisis, experts worry the problem may worsen if CMS funds for the program run dry by the end of the year, NBC News reported Feb. 7. 

Atlanta's healthcare system is routinely operating under significant strain — a situation physicians, patients and local officials worry could lead to larger problems, NBC News reported Feb. 7. 

Wahiawa (Hawaii) General Hospital shut down inpatient operations for multiple days due to a broken air conditioning system, KITV News reported Feb. 5.

Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, Ill., lost its level 2 trauma center designation Feb. 2.

Massachusetts has declared several regions "high risk" due to limited hospital capacity, a stark downturn for a state that is regularly heralded for the performance of its hospitals and healthcare system.

Arizona has the most level 1 trauma centers per capita and Washington has the fewest centers per capita, a study found.

The use of AI technologies in healthcare is rapidly becoming more widespread. But at this early stage of widespread AI adoption, patients have clear preferences as to which AI tools they perceive as useful and which they view with suspicion. 

It's estimated that 29.5 million people over the age of 12 meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder in 2022, and hospital leaders told Becker's that number continues to rise.